The Morning After
by Navonod
Summary: Fitz and Simmons chat after she returns. Set right after 3x02.


**I'd actually never written Fitzsimmons yet...and I haven't written a fic in a while, so this was interesting. But basically I was hit hard with the feels after 3x02 and all the fics I read about them after we saw her go sleep with him didn't involve a lot of speaking from her (which is fine, I still loved to read them and I got the feels and cried a little!). I mean, I know very little about PTSD so I don't mean to offend, but I just wanted to write something slightly different as we wait eagerly for 3x03. This is just me jumping on the bandwagon, so I hope you enjoy...**

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When Fitz woke, he was surprised to see Simmons' head resting on his leg and her body on the floor net to the bed. It must have been uncomfortable. But he was just so glad to see her there. For a second, he thought it may have been a hallucination again. If it wasn't for the weight on his leg, he may not have believed her to be true.

Her face was away from him, but from the pattern of her breathing he knew she wasn't asleep.

"Jemma," he said softly. Slightly startled (to Fitz's dismay), she lifted her head turned to him, staring with those eyes that he missed so much.

"Hi," she said in a whisper.

"Why are you on the floor?" Fitz asked and he shuffled over on the bed so she had room to sit down next to him.

"I didn't sleep well by myself," she said. "So I came here. This floor is still a lot comfier than..." her voice trailed off.

"You could have woken me," he told her.

"You have dark circles under your eyes. I wasn't going to wake you from a much needed sleep." She pulled her knees up to her chin.

"I've missed you so much," Fitz said gently.

Jemma smiled and reached out a hand to cover his. "I've missed you too. Well, I've missed humans in general, but mostly you."

Fitz chuckled.

Jenna's smile faded a bit. "How long was I gone for? I lost count of the days after two fortnights...that is, if day lengths were the same..."

Fitz inhaled but answered. "Six months."

That clearly was not what she expected. Her hand stiffened and her gaze fell.

Fitz hated seeing her sad. "It's okay. You're back now. You're okay."

Jemma nodded and ran a hand over her eyes quickly. "I'm okay..." she echoed.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Her grasp on his hand remained tight. Fitz knew inside she was a mess, even though she seemed more put together on the outside. He wished he knew how to fix it or what to say. Even when he was at his lowest the year before and she was with Hydra, at least he had the rest of the team with him. She had no one up there. He can't compare.

"You know that if you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here," Fitz gently said. She has six months worth of stories to tell bottled up inside her.

Simmons nodded slowly but her face got paler. She suddenly shook her head.

"I hated it, Fitz," she whispered. "It was an awful place and awful things happened. It's bad enough that I see it when I close my eyes..."

Fitz regretted saying anything. "I'm sorry," he said. _Sorry for so many things._

She turned to him and smiled weakly. "One day, I'll tell you. But...I...can't now..." She took a deep breath. "Besides, I want to hear your voice. Tell me what I missed." She gently rested her head on his shoulder and tucked her arms between her torso and her knees.

"Honestly, not much... Oh, Skye goes by Daisy now. That's it. That's the biggest news."

"Daisy...I like Skye better," Simmons stated.

"We all do. But it's her call. Coulson still messes up and calls her Skye sometimes. She's patient with him. Besides, it could be worse. We could be calling her Mary Sue Poots."

Jemma chuckled. "That's true. What else?"

"Uh, Bobbi and Lance are still...Bobbi and Lance."

"Meaning?"

"They're still here, still argue and still hook up. I'm, like, ninety percent sure they were doing it in one of the cars a few weeks ago."

"Lola?" Jemma asked, with a smile.

Fitz laughed. "No, but can you imagine? Coulson would actually flip out if he knew. He'd probably combust. Just...implode. Poof!"

Jemma laughed, and Fitz's heart soared. Her laugh was the same, beautiful as ever.

"Is Bobbi okay though? She was in a hospital bed when I last saw her."

"She's healing. She was pretty beat up, but she's eager to get back in the game. For the time being, she's been in the lab with me. Did you know she's got some bio background?"

Simmons nodded. "A bit."

"Yeah, Bobbi's been great. She covered for me a lot when I was out doing other stuff."

"Other stuff?"

"Trying to find you," Fitz said. "Leads were few but I followed them until the end."

Jemma smiled and stared down. Saying _thank you_ wouldn't even begin to cover the gratitude she felt.

Fitz kept talking. "Mack is still here too. He works with Skye finding new Inhumans. There was an outbreak and they've had trouble finding them first, but they do okay. One named Joey is is here. That's all I know. That Inhuman Skye knew, Lincoln, left but last I heard they want him to join us."

"He doesn't want to?"

"He wants a 'normal life'" Fitz said with a chuckle. "What does that even mean?"

Simmons breathed a laugh. "Hell if we know."

"Well, maybe May would know, as she took off a while ago. Around the same time as your accident, actually. She and her ex went somewhere and she never came back. Coulson's spoken with her, but he's not thrilled. He misses her. We all do. But she's not with her ex anymore, so who knows what she's up to."

"I think she has family, you know," Jemma comment. Then she bolted upright, eyes wide.

"What? What's wrong?" Fitz asked, seeing the panic and worry on her face.

"My parents..." Jemma said, her hands covering her mouth in shock. "Are they...? Do they know I...? Do they think...?"

Fitz shook his head and pried her hands away. He held them gently. "No, they don't know anything. They were close...Coulson was ready to make the trip out there. You'll have to call them later."

Simmons nodded. "Okay...good..." She breathed a long sigh of relief, leaned back, and looked at Fitz. "Sorry..."

Fitz stared right back at her. "It's okay," he told her firmly. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Jemma shrugged. "Yeah I do. I've had time to think...a lot of time...I shouldn't have left you."

"Jemma, you couldn't help it! That _thing_ just swallowed you!" Fitz exclaimed, but regretted his sudden brashness.

Jemma shook her head, tears in her eyes. "No, I mean, last year. I shouldn't have left you after your coma. I shouldn't have gone to Hydra."

Fitz didn't know what to say. They were past that, weren't they?

"You needed me, more than ever. And I remember being up _there_ thinking about how I needed you but...I left you..."

"Jemma, stop," Fitz said. "It's fine."

"It's not fine, Fitz. It's not fine." A few tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "If you felt even a fraction as awful as I feel now... I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. You're my best friend and we work best together and I can't believe I ruined that by going away."

Fitz opened his mouth to protest again, but she didn't let him.

"You're just going to say it's okay or you forgive me or something...but I just want you to know that I didn't leave to hurt you. I left to see if my absence would help you heal. I need you to know that."

Fitz nodded.

"You mean everything to me, Fitz. And I'm not just saying that because of what you did for me. I should have said that to you ages ago." She was fully crying now, her face now red. Fitz couldn't stand seeing her like this. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Her arms wound around him too. They both needed this.

When her sobbing reduced, she spoke. "I know you hate change. I used to not mind but now I hate it too. I just wish we could go back in time to when we weren't a mess."

"Oh, Jemma," Fitz sighed. He didn't know how to reply. "What was that line from that musical we saw? 'Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.'"

Jemma smiled and closed her eyes. "Are you Elphaba or am I?"

"You are. I mean, I've got the curls, so I'm Glinda," he replied.

Jemma laughed.

They fell asleep again, together this time. Simmons had dreams of space and her hell, but waking up was a comfort when she realized Fitz was right there next her...beside her the whole damn time.

It was after noon when they actually got up and went out of the room and he showed her around the new helecarrier. Her eyes lit up when they saw the lab and she hugged Skye so tightly that Fitz was kind of jealous.

Fitz started to see glimpses of the old Simmons back as the day went on. The Simmons that didn't have to fend for herself on an alien planet and the Simmons that didn't insist on caurrying around an odd little stick in her pocket.

Fitz held her hand as they walked. No matter what, she was still his Jemma.

 _She was home._


End file.
